An Upper East Side psychoanalyst, Dr. Frederick Starks spends his fifty-third birthday at his practice "listening to people complain about their mothers." When his last patient leaves, he finds a letter in the waiting room. The letter writer, who only identifies himself as a former patient, gives Starks an ultimatum: the patient will kill one of Starks' relatives within two weeks, unless Starks either correctly identifies him in an ad placed in the New York Times or kills himself. The threat is quickly made real when Starks learns that his teenage niece (who shares his birthday) has received a note promising sexual assault and torture. Katzenbach ratchets up the suspense with every page: as Starks embarks on his mental odyssey through 20 years of treatment to discover the identity of his tormentor, he is constantly besieged by more moves from the other side--false charges of seducing a patient, loss of his credit cards, loss of his status. Starks is in the position of fighting for his life and that of an unknown but soon-to-be-killed relative, while his abilities and sanity are steadily being eroded.

Congratulations!

Received from the wilds of Vienna - one of my all time favorite cities by the way. I'm not familiar with this writer but the cover looks really interesting. Thank you so much!